Kangaroo Flat has a golden opportunity to reverse a worrying trend against top four teams in Saturday’s final day of play against Bendigo at the QEO.

In six games against top four teams last summer the Roos had a 1-1-4 record, with their one win a one-day victory over Strathdale-Maristians.

They were in winning positions in other games against Sandhurst and Strathdale and had a tie with Golden Square.

In the end those results cost the Roos a top-four berth.

Last round against reigning premier Sandhurst, the Roos fell four runs short of a crucial victory.

Kangaroo Flat posted 9-324 last Saturday against premiership fancy Bendigo and skipper Brent Hamblin said it’s time his side landed a knockout blow against quality opposition.

“We were oh, so close again last round against Sandhurst which was similar to last year,’’ Hamblin said.

“Last week was as good a performance with the bat as I’ve seen in my time at Kangaroo Flat.

“We’ve set ourselves up and now it’s super important we get the job done with the ball.

“9-324 is a good score, but with the QEO wicket so good and the outfield fast, the score is probably only a little bit above par.

“We’ll need to bowl extremely well because Bendigo has some quality batsmen.

“We need to bowl tight and we’d love to get a couple of early wickets to put some pressure on.”

Hamblin said a win on Saturday would do wonders for the Roos’ confidence.

“To play finals you have to be able to beat the teams above you on the ladder,’’ he said.

“Bendigo finished above us last year and they’re ahead of so far this season.

“Last year we lost close games. We need to develop a winning culture and then winning those close games becomes a habit.

“Hopefully, we get in the right mindset early on and get that run-rate up.”

While Kangaroo Flat has had its problems in disposing of top-four teams, the Goers face their own challenge on Saturday.

You have to go back to round four of the 2013-14 season for the last time Bendigo scored more than 300 runs to win a game. 

That round Bendigo made 9-376 to defeat Sandhurst, with Mark Ryan making an unbeaten 105.

The Goers have reached the 300-run mark just twice since the start of the 2011-12 season.

“We understand it’s going to be a big task, but it’s a growth opportunity for us because if we can chase down the runs it’s going to give us a lot of hope and belief going forward,’’ Bendigo captain Shane Koop said.

“We’ve developed a clear method of how we’re going to chase the total in regards to wickets down and run rates.

“We feel we have a really clear game plan and we’re going to give it a really good go.”

Koop said the flat QEO wicket and the pace of the outfield will give the Bendigo batsmen every chance to post a big score.

“The wicket is really good, the outfield is fast and the QEO is such a big ground, so it’s difficult to defend,’’ he said.

“If we can bat out our overs we’re going to be somewhere near the mark.

“If we are to be successful it’s going to take all day. Even though the run rate pressure will be there, we need to have a sense of patience and go about the chase calmly.

“Having wickets in hand after tea is going to be really important.”

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